DEFENDER Jan Bednarek is set to play his first minutes of pre-season as Saints take on Montpellier to conclude their Spain training camp.

Polish international Bednarek, who featured at EURO 2024, watched on from the sidelines as Russell Martin's side beat Bordeaux 3-2 on Wednesday.

The 28 year old has been building back up after arriving to pre-season later than the rest of his teammates due to his international involvement.

Centre-back Ronnie Edwards, 21, will also return to the pitch after a brief spell out with tightness following his early substitution at Eastleigh.

Martin told the Daily Echo: "Jan and Ronnie will play so they're in a good place. The guys that missed out had to for various reasons and now they're back in. 

"Some players will play in different positions to what they usually play and then the team will look very different at the end.

"I think we have got a nice step up with this fixture and that is what we've gone for. Over here, it was about which teams were over as well and willing to play.

"But actually, it's really good opposition. Bordeaux was good and step up from Eastleigh. Now, Montpellier will be a step up from Bordeaux."

Saints will take on Montpellier behind closed doors at UE Olot's ground, Nou Estadi Municipal, with kick-off coming from 10am UK time on Saturday.

Montpellier compete in the French top division and drew 3-3 with Spanish La Liga side Girona last week as part of their tour in Catalunya.

Martin has tasked his Saints side with showing more structural discipline with players filling the spaces vacated by their teammates on the pitch.

He explained: "The strength of the team is that they understand each other's roles. We play structure and position but we play principle more than anything.

Sekou Mara celebrates his goal on WednesdaySekou Mara celebrates his goal on Wednesday (Image: Southampton FC)

"A player might not stand in the same position, he might go somewhere else, but then another player might take his position.

"As long as certain areas are occupied, in possession and out, and the team looks the same -  if you paused it at a certain point it should look fairly consistent.

"So then we're trying to get to the final third where they can go free and do what they want and be creative. That's why we scored a lot of goals last year.

"We're trying to do things in an organised way that takes as much randomness out of the game as possible, for the players to go and express themselves.

"Tomorrow we're just tweaking a little bit from how we build up and how we press in certain positions, which is what we've learned from Bordeaux."